Armor for vessels, forts, and the like.



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IORBIS LOW'Y, 0? NEW YORK. H. Y.

ARMOB FOE VIBSBLS, PORTS. AND THE LIKE Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 18. 1916.

Application filed October 11, 1915. Serial Io. 57.113.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, Momus Lowr, a citizen of the United States, and aresident of the city of New York, in the county of New York and State ofNew York, have invented cer tain new and useful Improvements in Armorsfor Vessels, Forts, and the like, of which the following is aspecification.

The present invention relates to an armor for war vessels or otherdefensive works, and is based upon the well known princi le that aprojectile will not penetrate a yiel ing obstruction as readily as itwill a rigid and stationary one.

Various ways have been proposed heretofore for mounting the armor orprotecting plates upon war vessels or other defensive works in order topermit of their yielding to arrest or absorb the force of theprojectiles thrown against the same. In all cases, however, as far asknown, springs were interposed between the armor and the hull of thevesel, or between the protecting plates and the wall or frame of thedefensive work. The springs employed were open-springs, that is to saysprings which were comprewed as the armor or protecting plates wereforced toward the hull of the vessel, or the wall or frame of thedefensive work. These springs abut against the armor or protectingplates and against the hull, wall or frame, as the case may be, andthereby transmit the force of the projectiles, or in other words theshock to the hull, wall or frame, which shock, although materiallydec'reased, results often in damage or injury to the elements to beprotected.

The main object of the present invention is to obviate the defects ofthe protectin devices heretofore in use, and with this 0 ject in view,it consists, broadly, in slidably mounting an armor or protecting platesupon the elements to be protected, and connectin the plates with thelatter by means 0 springs, which are normally closed, that is to saywhich are expanded when said armor or plates receive a. sudden blow, forinstance by a projectile thrown against the same.

Another object of the invention is to furnish the hull of a vessel, orthe wall or frannf of other defensive works with an armor or protectingplates which can be easily in stalled, and which are capable ofwithstandmfi the forces of nature to which they unsu ected, particularlyin a high sea. if up plied to vemels.

A further object of the invention is in provide an armor or protectingplates, which are simple in construction and of such titsign as not toretard the speed of the \'0S.-'ll.

\Vith these and ther obje ts in view. which will more fully appear astho nntnrr of the invention is better understood. thisame consists inthe combination. arrangiment and construction of parts hereinafter fullydescribed. pointed out in the appended claims and illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, it being understood that many changes may be madein the size or propor tion of the several parts and details of con- 1struction within the scope of the appended claims without departing fromthe spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of tin: invention.

A few of the many possible embodiments of the invention are illustratedin the ncconr panying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a side elevation ofa vessel with an armor constructed in accordance with tinprcscntinvention thereon Fig. 2 is a portinn ing one of t e armor or protectingplates in 2- its position when struck by a projectile; Fig. 7 is avertical section taken through a vessi-l with an armor thereonconstructed in ac cordance with a modification of the invon' tion; Fig.8 is a vertical section taken I through a fortification wall and anarmor plate mounted thereon; Fig. 9 is a plan \'l( of the device shownin Fig. 8: Fig. 10 is :1

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horizontal section taken through a portion of a gun-turret withprotecting plates in position thereon; and Fig. 11 is a perspective viewof a gun-shield made in accordance with this invention.

Referring now more particularly to Figs. 1 to (3. inclusive. the numeralindicates lhe hull of a war \OHMl or the like, to which lhe improvedarmor is designed to be upplicd. The armor comprises a plurality oflates 21, which may he made of any suitable material. These plates maybe interconnected by links 22, thereby forming a row of plates thatembrace, as it were, the said ball. Each plate is connected with theadjoining one by two links, of which one is located near the upper edgesof said plates, and the other one near the lower edges thereof. asappears from Fig. 1 of the drawings, said links being each provided withtwo, preferably, arc-shaped slots 23. Into one of these slots reaches apin 24, that is mounted upon one of a set of plates and into the otherone a pin 25, that is carried by the other one of the set of plates. Thepurpose of connecting these plates will be hereinafter described. Theplates may be of any suitable size, their height being such that theyreach partly below the waterline, indicated in Fig. 1 by the numeral20', and as much above the waterline as may be desired for the purposeat hand. To each of these armor plates is attached in any suitablemanner a plurality of plungers 26, which extend in horizontal directionsthrough apertures 27 in the hull. Stufiing boxes 28 are provided toprevent ingress of water into the hull.

To the inner ends of the plungers 26 of each plate is attached avertically extending frame 29, that is connected to the hull of thevessel by a plurality of heavy, normally closed springs 30. Thesesprings are interposed between the inner face of the hull and the saidframe, their inner ends 31 being attached in any suitable manner to aframework 32, in the form of plates, which are fixed to the inner faceof the hull, while their other ends, denoted by the numeral 33, areengaged with the frame 29. One way of attaching the ends 33 of thesprings to the frames 29 is illustrated in Fig. 4: of the drawings, theconnecting means consisting of screw bolts 34, upon the heads 35 ofwhich are wound a few turns of the ends 33 of the springs, said boltsextending through the said frames and being held thereon by nuts 36,which may be prevented from becoming loose'by cotter pins 37. It is, ofcourse, obvious that other suitable connecting means may be used just aswell. The springs 30 are of such dimensions that when they are inv theirnormally closed or compressed state, they will hold the armor plates 31a suitable distance from the outer face of the hull (Fig. 2).

The operation of this device is as follows: A projectile striking anarmor plate 21 meets with a yielding resistance, and causes the armorplate to move toward the hull. thereby.expanding the springs 3 lnasmuchas these springs are not interposed be.- tween the armor and the hull,they will not serve as shock transmitting means between the said twoelements. The yielding of the armor plate by the expansion of the heavysprings prevents penetration of said armor plate, and the projectile isbrought to rest before it could reach the hull of the vessel. The armorplates are interconnected in order to distribute the force. with whichone of the same is struck, over a plurality of the same, that is to say.if one of these armor plates is forced toward the hull of the vessel bya projectile 39 (Fig. (3). it will cause the adjoining plates to movetherewith to some extent, so that the shock is taken up not only by thesprings which are connected with the armor plate that has been struck,but also by the springs associated with the adjoining armor plates.

A modification of the invention is illustrated in Fig. 7 of thedrawings. which differs from the one above described in that theplungcrs 26, attached to the armor plates 21, do not penetrate the hull,but extend into casing-like frame-works 39, which are attached in anysuitable manner to the outer face of the hull. The springs 30 areconnected at their ends 31 with these casinglike frame-works, and attheir ends 33 with the frames 29. These frames 2!) are disposed at adistance from the outer face of the hull, which is greater than thelength to which these springs 30 would be expanded upon being struck bythe heaviest projectile. The operation of this device is in all respectssimilar to that of the one described in connection with Figs. 1 to (3,inclusive.

In Figs. 8 and E) the invention is shown applied to a fortificationwall. The fortification wall is denoted by the. numeral 40, and isprotected by plates 41, corresponding to the armor plates 21, abovedescribed, said plates being mounted upon plungers 42, which extendthrough sleeves 43, the latter being inserted into apertures 44 in thewall 40. The plungers extend also through frame-works 45, which aremounted in close vicinity to the inner face of the wall, and serve asthe means in which the inner ends of the heavy helical springs 46 areanchored, the outer ends of these springs being attached to frames 47,which are secured to the plungcrs in the same manner as the frames 29described in connection with the devices shown in Figs. 1 to 7,inclusive, are mounted upon the plun- BESTAVAILABLE coex gers 21. Theoperation of this device is also in all respects similar to that of theone described in connection with Figs. 1 to 6, inclusive.

The protecting plates may be used upon gun-turrets just as well. Aortion of such turret is shown in Fig. 10 o the drawin s, and isindicated by the numeral 48. 'lhe protecting plates 41 are each mountedupon a plurality of plungers 42, which extend through the wall of theturret and through a frame-work 48', that is attached to the inner faceof said turret. The inner ends of the plan ers extend into bearings 49,that are formed upon stationary elements 50 within the turret. Frames 51upon the plangers are connected with the frame-works 48 by heavy helicalsprings 5'2.

The operation of this device is obvious from the foregoing.

The invention may be used in connection with ordnance to shield the guncrew from projectiles while operating the piece. The gun-shieldcomprises a frame-work 53, consisting, for instance, of two sets ofstandards 54 and said standards being mounted upon base plates 56, andconnected by transverse tie-bars 57. In these standards are slidablymounted plungers 58, to which is attached the shield proper in the formof a plate 59, the said shield being provided with gun-port openings 60and sight-holes 61. Each pair of plungers is connected in front and inrear of each standard 55 by frames 62 and 63, respectively, the frame 62being connected with the standard 54 by heavy helical springs 64, andthe frame 63 with the standard 55 by heavy helical springs 65. Upon theplungers may be coiled springs 66, which bear against the standards 55and the frames 63. The purpose of these last named springs is to absorbthe shock when the shield is being returned to its normal position afterit has been struck by a projectile. It is to be observed that in thiscase the springs 64 and 65 have been disposed in parallel relation tothe vertical edges only of the shield 59. This is done in order to leavethe space between the members constituting a set of standards free forthe guns and the crew.

What I claim is:-

1. In an armor for vessels, forts and the like, the combination with thebody to be protected, of an armor plate disposed in parallel relation tothe outer face thereof and spaced therefrom, plungers carried by saidplate and slidably supported by said body, and normally closed springsconnecting said plungers and said body.

2. In an armor for vessels, forts and the like, the combination with thebody to be protected, of an armor plate disposed in parallel relation tothe outer face thereof and spaced therefrom, plungers carried by saidplate and slidably supported by said body, a frame mounted upon theinner ends of said plungers, and normally closed sprin s connecting saidframe and said body.

3. n an armor for vessels, forts and the like, the combination with thebody to be )rotected, of an armor comprising a plurality of platesdisposed in parallel relation to the outer face of said body and spacedtherefrom, links connecting adjoining plates, plungers carried by eachplate and slidably supported by said body, and normally closed iprlmgsconnecting said plungers and said 4. In an armor for vessels, forts andthe like, the combination with the body to be )rotectcd, of an armorcomprising a plurality of plates disposed in parallel relation to theouter face of said body and spaced therefrom, links connecting adjoiningplates, plungers carried by each plate and slidably supported by saidbody, a frame mounted upon the inner ends of the plungers of each plate,and normally closed springs connecting said frames and said body.

5. In an armor for vessels, forts and the like, the combination with thebody to be protected, of an armor plate disposed in parallel relation tothe outer face thereof and spaced therefrom, plungers carried by saidplate and slidably extending through said body, and normally closedsprings within said body connecting the latter and said plungers.

6. In an armor for vessels, forts and the like, the combination with thebody to be protected, of an armor plate disposed in parallel relation tothe outer face thereof and spaced therefrom, plungers carried by saidplate and slidably extending through said body, a. frame disposed withinsald body and mounted upon said plungers, and normally closed springsconnecting said frame and said body.

7. An armor for vessels, forts and the like, the combination with thebody to be protected, of an armor comprising a plurality of platesdisposed in parallel relation to the outer face of said body and spacedtherefrom, links connecting adjoining plates, plungers carried by eachplate and extending slidably through said body, and normally closedsprings within said body connecting the latter and said plungers.

8. An armor for vessels, forts and the like, the combination with thebody to be protected, of an armor comprising a plurality of platesdisposed in parallel relation to the outer face of said body and spacedtherefrom, links connecting adjoining plates, plungers carried by eachplate and extending slidably through said body, a frame mounted upon theplungers of each plate,

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said frames being disposed within said body, and normally closed springsconnecting said frames and said body.

5). The combination with a frame-work, of an armor plate disposed inparallel relation to its front face and spaced therefrom, plunge-rscarried by said plate and slidably extending through said frame-work,and normally closed springs connecting said plungers and frame-work.

10. The combination with a framework,

of Oct, A. D. 1915.

MORRIS LO\VY.

Copies of this patent. may be obtained for five cents each, byaddressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. 0.

